Torbush is leaving, retiring as Kansas defensive coordinator after being diagnosed with what he described as low-grade prostate cancer. Cornerbacks coach Vic Shealy and defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt will replace him as co-coordinators.

Torbush, 59, will undergo surgery in the near future and plans to remain in Lawrence until the cancer is gone.

"I just felt like for my future, my family's future and where I'm at in life right now, this was the perfect time for me to back away and basically retire from football," said Torbush, who coached one season at KU. "I don't have any doubt that I could go for a long time. The thing I want to do is make sure I have a good quality of life and my family's got a good quality of life."

"That was a tough meeting," Torbush said. "To tell him that I'm leaving, I know it had to hurt. It hurt me to be able to do it. I just felt like at this stage of my life, that's what I want to do."

Torbush, a veteran assistant and former head coach at North Carolina, was among Gill's first hires at KU. His previous coaching stops include Alabama, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Mississippi State.

"I always said if I got the opportunity to be a head coach, I was going to call him up and see if he wanted to join me," Gill said. "He almost beat me here."

Torbush didn't completely rule out a return to football but indicated his odds of accepting another coaching job were slim.

"You never say never, but if I were going to stay in football, I'd stay right here with this program and (Gill)," Torbush said.

Torbush's departure creates ramifications in the football realm, some of which were addressed by the promotions of Wyatt and Shealy. Gill also plans to add a linebackers coach and hopes to make the hire within a week.

"I want to get somebody hired here and get ready to roll," he said.

These are significant changes for a team that ranked 98th nationally in total defense last season, allowing 428 yards per game. Given the timing -- fall camp is roughly two months away -- continuity was essential, Gill said.

"There's no question I didn't (look beyond) our staff, because I knew we had people already here on our staff who were capable of being defensive coordinators," he said.

Shealy, a former head coach at Azusa Pacific, came to KU after coordinating defenses at UNLV and Richmond. Wyatt, a first-time coordinator, has been a line coach at Oklahoma State, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Alabama.

Shealy, who will have final say on defensive calls, doesn't expect the identity of KU's defense to change significantly.

"We want to line up and try to create havoc," he said. "We want to try to create dysfunction in offense. When you are doing those things, not only are you making plays, but you're creating that seed of doubt in an opponent as to whether they're going to play well enough to beat you."

Torbush is optimistic about the future, both for the program he leaves behind and the life that lies ahead.

"This program is not going to miss a beat," Torbush said. "It's just a situation right now where I feel like I need to move on with my life."